|
Viking treasures found on farm
19/07/2007 22:00 - (SA)
Raphael G Satter
London - One of the biggest Viking treasures has been discovered on an English farm by a father-son team of treasure hunters, the British Museum said on Thursday.
The trove of coins and jewellery was buried more than 1 000 years ago - a collection of items drawn from Ireland, France, Russia and Scandinavia in a testament to the raiders' international reach and commercial prowess.
David and Andrew Whelan, a pair of British treasure hunters, were trawling a through a farmer's field near Harrogate, in northern England, with a metal detector when they stumbled upon the hoard.
"It's a fascinating find, it's the largest find of its type of over 150 years," said Gareth Williams, an expert at the British Museum who examined the trove.
He said it was the largest such find ever seen in Britain since the 1840 discovery of the Cuerdale Hoard - a mass of 8 500 silver coins, chains, and amulets.
The largest piece is a ninth century gilt silver container that was likely taken from a monastery, Williams said.
'Taken by force'
The Vikings used it as an improvised treasure chest, packing it full of booty, before burying it for safekeeping.
In all, more than 600 coins and dozens of other objects, including a gold arm band, silver ingots and fragments of silver were found in and around the container.
Some of the coins mixed Christian and pagan imagery, Williams said, showing the beliefs of the time.
The Vikings likely accumulated the booty through a combination of commerce and warfare, Williams said. Its quantity indicated some of it was taken by force, perhaps in raids on northern Europe or Scandinavia, he said.
The items were manufactured as far afield as Afghanistan, Russia and Scandinavia.
The Vikings raids were chronicled as early as the eighth century by Christian monks on the coasts of northern Europe. The raids spread throughout Europe, from modern day Spain to Turkey.
Times of trouble
In some places, the raids grew into full-fledged invasions, and Viking kingdoms were established in Britain, Ireland, and Normandy, in France, among other places.
The British Museum said that the loot was hidden some time after the fall of the Viking Kingdom of Northumbria in 927. Vikings often buried their wealth in times of trouble.
The museum said it hoped to buy at least some of the hoard from the Whelan family once its value was determined.
- AP
|
News
